Oil firms pre-register for Brazil's upcoming pre-salt auctions

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Nearly a dozen oil companies have filled out initial forms for two upcoming oil exploration rights auctions in Brazil’s pre-salt area, a government official said on Thursday, underscoring growing interest in one of the world’s most promising oil discoveries in decades.

Pre-salt’s second and third auction are scheduled to take place on Oct. 27, allowing oil companies to bid on eight blocks in the Santos and Campos basins.

“Today we have nine that have expressed interest in the second (auction) and ten that have expressed interest in the third,” ANP director Waldyr Barrosos, an official at oil industry watchdog ANP said at an event in Rio de Janeiro.

Barroso said the companies had filled out an initial form expressing interest in the bidding processes, but would not officially be considered registered until they had completed further requirements and been approved by a committee. Companies have until Sept. 8 to register.

Pre-salt fields, where hydrocarbons are trapped under thick layers of salt beneath the ocean floor, are considered Brazil’s most prized energy assets.

Pre-salt fields, where hydrocarbons are trapped under thick layers of salt beneath the ocean floor, are considered Brazil’s most prized energy assets.

Details of the process were released on Wednesday. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Marguerita Choy)